Poland arrests Russian professional ice hockey player on suspicion of 'espionage'

By Burak Bir

LONDON (AA) - Poland's security agency arrested a Russian professional ice hockey player on suspicion of "espionage," Warsaw said on Friday.

The Internal Security Agency (ABW) arrested the Russian citizen suspected of spying from the Silesia Voivodeship in southern Poland on June 11, following an investigation into a spy ring operating in the country, Warsaw said in a statement.

The suspect, a male, is now one of 14 people detained as part of the investigation, accused of collaborating with Russian special forces, the statement claimed.

"The evidence gathered in the course of the investigation confirms his involvement and active participation in fulfilling the tasks that he was assigned," it added.

"The whole group was used by the Russians to conduct intelligence activities, including railway monitoring, as well as to spread propaganda targeted against NATO, Poland, and the Polish government’s policy," according to the statement.

It said the detainee is a professional player of the premier hockey league who has been in the country since Oct. 2021, four months before the beginning of the Russian war on Ukraine.

On June 13, a Polish court sentenced the man to three months in prison, the statement said.

On Polish territory, he carried out tasks for the “benefit of foreign intelligence,” including, inter alia, reconnaissance of critical infrastructure in several voivodships (administrative divisions), it said.

Meanwhile, Russia has "strongly protested" the arrest of its citizen in Poland and demanded an explanation from Warsaw.

The Russian Embassy in Warsaw is investigating the circumstances of the incident, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told Russian state-run news agency TASS, adding that all necessary assistance will be provided to the Russian hockey player accused of espionage.